Volatile Times
by EmilytheSlayer
Summary: Takes place after the season finale. Jane has been arrested and she's just as confused and as traumatized as ever when it comes to figuring out who she is. She's got blood on her hands and a mouthful of lies. It's time to come clean but it will be messy. Is it even worth it?
1. Not a Prisoner Tonight

_You're not real. You're not real. You're not real. You're not real._

 _Tick. Tock. The clock ticks. Counting down. You're going to explode. Liar liar pants on fire. You lied to Kurt. He's mad at you. 1,2,3,4 how many more seconds until you snap? How much of your life is a lie? Are your memories even real?_

 _You're nothing._

Stale. That was the only word she could think of to describe the room she was locked in. Stale and cold. She wasn't sure if it was a cell. There were no rows of long metal bars to separate her from the outside, no tiny rectangular window. Add empty to her list of words. Stale, cold and empty. One lonely mattress lay on the floor with an even lonelier sink and toilet. She was happy this room had a slight sense of hygiene. A small mirror hung over the sink. A part of her wanted to look at her reflection to see if she could find some answers but the other part of her was too afraid of what she would see.

Jane was scared of what would stare back at her.

She had been arrested a few hours ago, or was it days?

For all she knew, she could've been in here for a week. She didn't know. She didn't know where she was or who she was. Her stomach decided to growl as if making a point. She couldn't remember the last time she ate. They gave her a meal when she first arrived but must've forgotten about her. She didn't know who _They_ were. She just assumed someone brought her food or it just magically floated through the slot of the heavy metal door. She gave up banging on it; her throat had started to hurt.

She was exhausted.

But she didn't want to sleep.

 _I can't_.

The nightmares were too much. When she first closed her eyes lying on the lonely mattress, she woke up screaming. She couldn't remember why or what happened in her dream, but she remembered the feeling. The thumping of her heart, the cold sweat dripping from her face, _His_ voice, Kurt's', screaming at her that she was a fraud, that she didn't deserve to be with him, that she didn't deserve a life if she wasn't even real. Jane wasn't her real name. She didn't know what it was.

Dream Kurt was right. Why was she here, alive and breathing, if she didn't have a proper life? There's nothing for her to build off of and just when she thought there was, when she had a team she could trust, when she had a purpose to solving the puzzles on her skin, it fell apart the one man she trusted lost all faith in her, when her supposed husband was going to Erase her again.

Empty like this room.

That's what she was.

She almost laughed at the irony of it all but she held her breath. Suddenly there was a rattle of chains just outside her door and she almost dove right to the slot to find out what it was. She stuck out her hands and waiting for the plate of food to drop but it didn't come. She dropped her hands and stood up, banging on the door.

"Hey!"

Just then, something dropped from outside with a loud bang. There was yelling. Footsteps pounding. She swore she heard gunshots. What was going on? She banged harder on the door, screamed louder. She wanted out of this crazy mess that was happening outside. She felt ignored, isolated and invisible. Was she here? Was she real? When she raised a fist to bang on the door again, she was blown back as the door seemed to explode in front of her. She hit the wall with a thud, her body went limp and she slid down like a rag doll. The dust stung her eyes and she tried waving it away but there was too much.

"Jane."

Someone was calling for her. But she couldn't make out the voice. Everything was happening so quickly. She was suddenly free! But why? She had no intention of going out into that mess. Suddenly being isolated and invisible felt like a fantastic idea. She wanted to hide, curl up in the lonely mattress. Fuck it if she closed her eyes. She didn't care. She just wanted to disappear.

"Jane!" the voice was calling for her again. They seemed angry, annoyed.

 _Stop yelling at me_ she wanted to say.

She was scared.

Suddenly, she felt a hand grope her and a pair of strong hands pulled her forwards. Fingers gripped tightly around her arms. She tried pulling free but she was too weak, too tired. _Let me sleep. Please. Just let me rest._

 _You can't._

 _Just run._

And she did. Whether this person was her rescuer or a bad guy, she used them as a support for her legs to keep running and focus on her freedom. She was getting out of the empty room. That was all she cared about at that moment.

The smoke was clearing and her vision was slowly returning. The figure of the person holding on to her became clearer as well. It was a man. He looked familiar.

"Kurt." The name escaped her lips before she could catch herself. He stopped in his tracks. There was something different about his figure; he seemed smaller. Finally after what seemed like decades, he turned around and Jane had to stop herself from running away. Her body shook with fear as her fingers covered her mouth in shock.

 _No._

 _It wasn't possible._

"No, not Kurt." Oscar corrected her with a devil grin on his face.


	2. Shaking Hands With the Dark Parts

Oscar was alive. He was here, alive, not on fire, not dead. Alive. It wasn't possible. How? Jane was speechless, her mouth hung open like a fish out of water, lips quivered, eyes open in shock. Nonononono. This couldn't be happening. She wanted to run away, to crawl back to her cell, lock the door and lay on her mattress forever. She wanted to forget. Is that what he came back for, to make her forget?

"But…but I killed you."

She remembered his blood on her hands, it was an accident, he walked in to the sharp object, but she was saved from forgetting, she could remember forever. She didn't want to.

Oscar's laugh broke her thoughts. He was laughing. He was alive. She shook her head. It was too much, all of it, too much.

"And I came back." He simply answered. Vague. All of it was vague. Unanswered.

"H-how?"

Oscar opened his mouth to answer but the ground shook below and he was caught off guard. His hand slipped and he fell to the floor, letting go of her arm. Jane didn't know what to do. Should she help him or run away? She wanted answers but she didn't want to be with him. No. She wanted Kurt, she wanted the team, and she wanted her own self.

She was going to stay. It would be like last time. She just wanted answers but no fuck ups this time. A new beginning. Hopefully. She bent over to help him up but his expression said otherwise. Panic? Fear? He scrambled to his feet and grabbed Jane's outstretched hand, pulling her forwards. They were running again. Why? And then she remembered the gunshots from earlier and the screaming. It was so loud. There was too much.

"I'll have to answer your question later. But right now, all we can do is run." He panted. Each word came out in one short breath. Jane still didn't know why she trusted him. No. She didn't trust him. Why was she still following him? He had answers. But then it'd be like last time. _Look how that turned out_. Not pleasant.

She was confused.

 _He might make me forget again. But look, he's helping you._

 _Just run._

 _Run and forget for a moment._

* * *

She didn't know how long they were running for. But she held on to Oscar's hand for her dear life. The hallway they were running along seemed to never end. She wanted out. She decided to try asking another question.

"Where are you taking me? Where's Kurt?" Okay, maybe two questions. Kurt was still on her mind.

Oscar didn't say anything but something about his expression changed. Jane wasn't sure what it was but she had a sense that she'd seen that same look somewhere. From somewhere she couldn't remember. She wanted to say jealousy but it didn't seem to fit. Not with the way his face darkened. It took her a moment to realize that he was staring right at her.

"I can't tell you." He looked forwards again, his grip around her arm tightened.

That was it. Jane gathered up all the strength she could muster in the state she was in and wrung her arm out from his grip. She stumbled back but managed to catch her ground. She was furious.

"Why won't you answer me? Why do you _always_ have to be so mysterious? Cut the crap, Oscar. I want answers, okay? And if you want me to behave and run away with you and not kill you again, then you _will_ answer me." Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one foot. She wasn't moving. Not yet.

Oscar stared at her for a moment before breaking a smile. He held out his hands in defense, a slight chuckle was released.

"Alright. Whatever you want." This took Jane by surprise. Oscar's smile suddenly disappeared. "But it'd be wise to have me answer them when we arrive at our location rather than stand around and have one of us get shot. We don't have the time to risk our lives."

It was Jane's turn to laugh. But it was nothing friendly.

"Wow, I'm loving these vague answers. I didn't know you controlled time. What else do you control? My memories? My life?" She wasn't finished. He was going to get her wrath and if it meant killing him again and running back to her team, she'd do it. She was free.

Oscar let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. He lunged forwards and grabbed her two arms, shaking her. He was angry now.

"Jesus, Jane. Now is not the time to accuse me. Take my hand and run or die down here just like your team."

That was enough to shut her up. Her face paled and the shaking started again. Her thoughts swarmed around her in one great panic. She felt the world stop and the bile rise in her throat. She must've misheard him, of course.

"My-my team? What are you talking about?" It took her a moment to find her voice.

Oscar was silent. He shook his head and grabbed her arm. They were running again.

"Oscar? _Please_ answer me." Jane begged and she begged while her feet did the walking. All she could think about was the fact that her team was lying dead somewhere. That Kurt… _Oh, Kurt._

"I can't, Jane. Not here, not now."

He looked busy. Too busy to stop and answer one simple questions. A part of Jane feared that Oscar was behind their deaths. After all, he was capable of somehow surviving the fire and the _accident_. Oh god, the blood. There was blood. Blood on her hands, drowning her mind, staining her vision.

Suddenly she felt a pain stab through her and she fell forwards onto Oscar. He turned around to save her from banging her head on the ground. She tried to say thank you, tried to move in her weakened state but she couldn't. She was confused. Fading. Fading fast. Someone was calling for her. Was it Oscar? She couldn't tell. She was tired.

"Jane!"

Oh, so very tired.

* * *

Pain was the first thing she felt when she opened her eyes. A light blinded her. Was she in heaven? Voices were calling her back, or just one. She couldn't tell. She just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Jane." There it was again.

"Where am I?" her voice sounded rough, groggy. Scratched her ears.

"You're safe. Relax." That voice was definitely Oscar's. Jane was disappointed. She'd hoped it was all a dream and she was safe at a hospital with Kurt sitting on the chair beside her hospital bed.

He didn't answer her question.

She sat up, the sheets wrinkled over her body. She grunted at the pain and reached down to cover her stomach.

"Oscar?"

"Hmm?" He looked up, his eyes searching hers. A shiver ran through her body as memories of the two of them resurfaced in her mind: it was a montage of their one of many times making out in bed. No, she still didn't love him. She never could.

"What happened? And please don't avoid this question like you have with all of my other fifty million questions I've asked you."

Oscar was silent, the usual. He cleared his throat. He seemed to be working out what to say. Perhaps he was preparing another string of lies? After all, Jane had difficulty correlating between the truth and a lie. Especially now that she wasn't Taylor, that _she_ was a lie.

"You were shot and then collapsed. I brought you here."

Vague. Always vague.

"No, Oscar." Her voice shook. Everything shook. "That's not what I meant."

He looked at her in confusion, brows furrowed, jaws tightened.

"Why did you come back for me?"

For the first time since she'd known him- well, _remembered_ him, Oscar looked lost. _Guess who's the little lost duckling now? Can't answer?_

He looked at her with great wonder, with big eyes before opening his mouth.

"Because… because everyone else was dying." It was his turn to start shaking. Or was it a trick? He was good at those.

"Who?"

Everything about his stare was haunting. She could read it on his face. He was terrified, and in that moment Jane was, too. She felt terrified for his answer.

"All the other people who _Forgot_."

It was worse. Much, much worse than she thought.

"I saved you from forgetting."

Jane didn't know what to believe. After all, he _did_ try to Erase her. This had to be a trick. It had to. He was saying this to make her scared, to make her fall for him again and trust him.

"Jane?" His eyes were searching again, this time he was the one wanting an answer.

But she couldn't give one. She didn't know what to say. She just knew that her team was dead. Everything else, she was confused.

Finally she said something. He had to strain his ears to hear her tiny whisper.

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

And she cried.


End file.
